So I am playing around with GSender and I ran into an issue,
1 - I am running a 2.2khz 220v Spindle. its heavy, I know this.
2 - the spindle from start to finish runs through the Code 100% no issue.
So, I was surfacing a Cutting board with a 2" carbide tool bit, and everything was perfect.
right up until the end, where the job finished, and it centered itself in the work piece.
Problem A :
Because of the weight of the spindle, the Z dropped about 2-3mm, not having seen the drop, I wanted to run the bit over it again, however due to the drop, it started digging into the wood again.
Problem B:
This is the same issue, however its a little more obvious.
After the board was re-surfaced, the head was moved back to the center of the work, at 0,0
however this time, instead of dropping 1-2mm, the head just basically started dropping, right into the workpiece and carved a 4mm hole.
Question : How can I force the Z axis (x,y,z for that matter) to stay engaged, so the precision remains constant
I want to be able to load a board onto the table (that are always the same thickness) and run my Gcode to surface the board. I dont want to have to reset my Z after every run.
@Menglor You may want to try entering $1=255 into the console window. This will keep the motors powered as long as the controller is turned on. This was an option put forward by Chris when users running the Mill vertically found that the X gantry was slowly dropping downward when the machine was not in use. The weight of the gantry was overcoming the resistance of the anti-backlash nut. I would expect that keeping the Z motor powered up would prevent the dropping that you are experiencing. Keep in mind that, as soon as you turn off the controller, the motor loses power. Keep in mind, too, that this causes increased wear on the motors.
Every time your steppers complete a motion and come to a stop, Grbl will delay disabling the steppers by this value. OR, you can always keep your axes enabled (powered so as to hold position) by setting this value to the maximum 255 milliseconds. Again, just to repeat, you can keep all axes always enabled by setting $1=255 My Z axis keeps dropping
@Menglor Just to add to what I already said, Stephen, I’m sure that you know that this has nothing to do with gsender. You can use the gsender console to enter the $1=255 command or you can use any other gcode sender with a console. The command changes the eeprom of the controller, so it will be in place, no matter what sender you use after entering the command.
